The present subject matter relates generally to dialog devices for an aircraft, such as a transport airplane, and more particularly to dialog devices and methods enabling a dialog between an operator of the aircraft, in particular a pilot, and a guidance system of the aircraft.
Airplanes that are provided with a guidance system, either a flight director that computes piloting targets on the basis of guidance targets or an automatic piloting system associated or not with an auto thrust system that makes it possible to follow guidance targets automatically, are typically provided with an item of equipment, for example one called FCU (Flight Control Unit) on airplanes of the AIRBUS type or one called MCP (Mode Control Panel) on airplanes of the BOEING type, that enables a pilot of the airplane to enter guidance targets into the guidance system. Generally, the pilot chooses a guidance target, then he or she controls the engagement (activation) of the associated guidance mode, so that it takes into account either the value entered (in a so-called “selected” mode), or a value computed by the system according to various criteria (in a so-called “managed” mode).
More particularly, the pilot can, with respect to the speed axis, enter a speed (i.e., calibrated airspeed CAS) or Mach target or give control to the system so as to use a speed or Mach target computed on the basis of certain criteria. On the lateral axis, the pilot can enter a heading (HEADING) or route (TRACK) target or give control to the system so as to use the route from the predefined flight plan. On the vertical axis, the pilot can provide a level, follow an axis (e.g., an approach axis), enter an altitude target, indicate how to reach this altitude target by observing a vertical speed or a gradient, by optimizing the climb or descent time while observing an air speed, or by observing a geometrical vertical profile defined by the system according to certain criteria. These targets are taken into account by the guidance system, either directly as soon as their value is modified if the associated mode is active, or after validation (Le., engagement of the associated mode) in the case where another guidance mode is initially engaged. In the latter case, the target is to be preset before its validation.
For each selection of a target to be reached or to be maintained there is a corresponding guidance mode of the airplane. There is one mode engaged for each axis (speed, lateral, vertical) exclusively. As an illustration, on the lateral axis, a heading mode or route mode can be captured or maintained, a trajectory of the flight plan mode can be joined or maintained, or an approach axis on a horizontal plane mode can be captured or maintained. On the vertical axis, an altitude mode can be captured or maintained, a desired altitude can be reached (climb or descent) while observing an air speed mode, a climb or descent can be performed while observing a vertical speed or a gradient, a climb or descent can be performed while observing a geometrical profile or altitude constraints mode, or a vertical plane mode can be used to capture or maintain the approach axis.
A synthetic summary of the behavior of the guidance system (flight director or automatic piloting system, associated or not with an automatic thrust control) is produced, generally, on the screens displaying the primary flight parameters, of PFD (Primary Flight Display) type, on a panel of FMA (Flight Mode Annunciator) type. This synthetic summary reviews, generally, the guidance modes that are engaged (active) on each axis (speed, lateral, vertical), as well as the guidance modes that are armed, that is to say those which have been requested by the pilot and which will be engaged automatically when conditions for engaging the mode are satisfied. As an example, outside the trajectory of the flight plan, in maintain heading mode converging toward the trajectory of the flight plan with the join or maintain the trajectory of the flight plan mode armed, the latter mode is engaged automatically on approaching the flight plan.
In most airplanes with two pilots, the control unit of the guidance system is situated in the center of the cockpit (above the screens showing the flight parameters) so that both pilots can access it. This control unit, for example of FCU type, makes it possible to select guidance targets, to engage the modes associated with a guidance target (render the mode active), or to request the arming of the mode, and to change reference (for example heading rather than route) for a guidance target.
The task of the pilot responsible for the guidance of the airplane is to select the guidance targets and modes. Currently, he or she performs this task through the dedicated control unit (FCU or MCP) which is located between the two pilots, then he or she has to check the selection of his or her targets (values) on the primary flight screen which is located facing him or her (PFD, standing for Primary Flight Display) and/or on the navigation screens (ND, standing for Navigation Display in the lateral plane; VD, standing for Vertical Display in the vertical plane). Then, the guidance is monitored on these screens which indicate the behavior of the guidance. For instance, the guidance can be a summary of the behavior via the synthesis of the modes that are armed and engaged (e.g., shown on an FMA panel), a display of guidance targets (e.g., speed CAS, heading/route, altitude, vertical speed/gradient) and deviations in relation to the current parameters of the airplane (e.g., shown on a PFD screen), or margins in relation to the limits, such as a margin in relation to the minimum operational speed and stall speed (e.g., shown on a PFD screen).
This standard solution presents drawbacks, however, such as the pilot having to select the guidance targets and modes in one place (control unit FCU), then check and monitor the behavior of the airplane in another place (on the playback screens). This involves visual toing and froing and a dispersion of the guidance elements between the control and the playback of the behavior of the system. In addition, the control unit is a physical item of equipment that is costly and difficult to modify (because it is of hardware type), and this control unit is bulky in the cockpit.
The present subject matter relates to dialog devices and methods for use by an operator, notably a pilot, of an aircraft for a guidance system of the aircraft, which makes it possible to remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks. To this end, according to the present subject matter, a dialog device which can be installed on the aircraft and which can comprise at least one screen capable of restoring guidance information, is noteworthy in that the screen comprises at least one graphic object which is produced in the form of an interaction element which is associated with at least one guidance target of the guidance system and which represents, on the one hand, a playback element which indicates the value of the associated guidance target of the guidance system and, on the other hand, a control element which can be grasped or selected and moved along a curve by an operator so as to modify the value of the guidance target.
Thus, by virtue of the present subject matter, there is on the screen (e.g., PFD, ND or VD type) at least one interaction element which is associated with a guidance target of the guidance system and which not only makes it possible to restore the value of this guidance target with which it is associated, but also enables an operator to modify this value on the screen. In this way, the control and the monitoring can be combined or colocated.
The present subject matter can be applied to any guidance target used by a guidance system and in particular to the following guidance targets: speed/Mach, heading/route, altitude, vertical speed/gradient. An interaction function (direct) can be obtained on a screen (which was hitherto dedicated only to the playback of the flight parameters and guidance), through an interaction element (namely a graphic object allowing an interaction) associated with a guidance target.
This interaction element can be grasped or selected and moved on a display such as a screen by an operator along a path, such as for example a curve (on a scale for example, which can appear dynamically and contextually when modifying a target) so as to modify the associated guidance target. By way of example, the present subject matter can make it possible to grasp or select an interaction element indicating a heading target, move it along a heading scale (a heading rose for example) to modify the heading target so that the new heading target is taken into account by the guidance system of the aircraft. The path, such as a curve, can be predefined and can be a scale of values displayed by default or an independent curve on which a scale of values can appear dynamically and contextually.
A dialog device according to the present subject matter, of interactive type, thus makes it possible for the pilot to select guidance targets (as well as guidance modes, as specified below) in the same place (screen) where he or she can check and monitor the behavior of the aircraft. This avoids the visual toing and froing and a dispersion of the guidance elements, which exist on the standard dialog devices. The dialog device can further make it possible, in circumstances specified below, to do away with a control unit (e.g., FCU type), which is an item of equipment that is costly, difficult to modify and bulky.
In some aspects, the interaction element can comprise a plurality of states which allow different actions to be implemented. In this case, advantageously, the interaction element can comprise states which allow at least some of the following different actions to be implemented: modifying a guidance target, called selected, which is directly applied by the guidance system; modifying a preset guidance target, which will be applied by the guidance system after validation; engaging a capture or maintain mode for a selected guidance target; and/or engaging a capture or maintain mode for a computed guidance target (called “managed”).
Furthermore, advantageously, the transition from one state to another of the interaction element can be generated by a corresponding movement thereof.
Moreover, in one configuration, a dialog device can comprise a plurality of interaction elements, each of which can be intended for a given guidance target (speed/Mach, heading/route, altitude, vertical speed/gradient) of the guidance system. The use of a plurality of interaction elements, namely an interaction element for each guidance target, on the screens dedicated to the playback of the flight parameters and of the guidance (PFD, ND, VD), makes it possible to directly implement on these screens all the functions of a standard physical control unit, for example of FCU type, and therefore to do away with such a control unit, which represents a significant saving in particular in terms of cost, weight and bulk.
In a particular embodiment, a dialog device can comprise at least one interaction element, which can control at least two different references (speed/Mach, heading/route, vertical speed/gradient) of a guidance target of the guidance system. This interaction element is capable of controlling only one reference at a time, and the selection of one of the references to be controlled depends on the movement of the interaction element (or on the action carried out to make it appear).
Moreover, advantageously, the interaction element can in one aspect not be displayed continuously on the screen, as it can appear by a predetermined action, such as for example by placing a pointer (finger or cursor in particular) on the corresponding graphic object. In the context of the present subject matter, the interaction element can be moved by a direct action. It is however also possible to envisage moving the interaction element by a so-called “lever arm” effect noted further below.
In one particular configuration, the screen can generate a dynamic visual feedback on a predicted trajectory associated with the guidance target, which makes it possible to have directly on the same screen both a way for selecting the guidance target, for restoring its value, and an indication of the effect generated on the trajectory of the aircraft. This embodiment is particularly advantageous operationally, since the pilot can immediately interpret the impact of his or her guidance target modifications on the trajectory, and can do so without the need for any visual toing and froing between a control panel and a playback screen. Furthermore, in this case, advantageously the screen can automatically display at least one characteristic point of the predicted trajectory, and the interaction element can act on the characteristic point(s), thus displayed, of the predicted trajectory to modify them.
The present subject matter can be applied to one or more screens, such as the abovementioned PFD, ND, and VD screens. In a first embodiment of a dialog device, the screen can be a touch screen, and a graphic object is controlled by a direct contact (e.g., finger contact) on the part of the operator on this touch screen. Furthermore, in a second embodiment, a dialog device can comprise, in addition to the screen, a control device, such as a trackball or a touchpad in particular (of the multi-touch type or not), that can be linked to the screen and that enable an operator to control the movement of a cursor on the screen, intended to act on the interaction element provided.
The present subject matter also relates to a guidance system of an aircraft, namely a flight director or an automatic piloting system which may be associated with an automatic thrust system, the automatic piloting system comprising a dialog device such as that mentioned above, to enable a dialog between the guidance system and an operator, notably a pilot, of the aircraft.
These and other objects of the present disclosure as can become apparent from the disclosure herein are achieved, at least in whole or in part, by the subject matter disclosed herein.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject matter including the best mode thereof to one of ordinary skill in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
The present subject matter provides devices, systems, and methods that enable a dialog between an operator of an aircraft, in particular a pilot, and a guidance system of the aircraft. In one aspect schematically represented in
For this, the dialog device 1 that can be installed on the aircraft can comprise a display system 2 that can comprise at least one screen 3 capable of displaying guidance information of the guidance system 4. The dialog device 1 may comprise one or more screen 3. Specifically, for example, the dialog device 1 can comprise at least one of a piloting screen of Primary Flight Display (PFD) type, a navigation screen of Navigation Display (ND) type in relation to the lateral plane, and/or a navigation screen of Vertical Display (VD) type in relation to the vertical plane.
According to the present subject matter, the screen 3 can comprise at least one graphic object that can be produced in the form of an interaction element 8. This interaction element 8 can be associated with at least one guidance target of the guidance system 4 and can represent, on the one hand, a playback element that indicates the value of this guidance target of the guidance system 4, in conjunction with a scale of values and, on the other hand, a control feature that can be grasped and moved along a curve by an operator, in particular the pilot of the aircraft, so as to modify the value of the guidance target (of the guidance system 4).
To do this, the display system 2 comprising the screen 3 can be linked such as via a link 5 to guidance components 4A, 4B, and 4C of the guidance system 4, so as to be able to provide a communication of information between the two assemblies. The guidance system 4 may comprise, as guidance components, a standard flight director 4A, that can compute piloting targets on the basis of guidance targets, a standard automatic piloting system 4B, which makes it possible to follow guidance targets automatically, and/or a standard automatic thrust system 4C which makes it possible to manage the engines thrust automatically. Thus, by virtue of the dialog device 1 according to the present subject matter, the operator has on the screen 3 at least one interaction element 8 that can be associated with a guidance target of the guidance system 4 and that not only makes it possible to restore the value of this guidance target with which it is associated, but also enables this value to be modified on the screen 3.
A dialog device 1 according to the present subject matter therefore allows a direct interaction on a screen 3 (which was hitherto dedicated solely to the playback of the flight parameters and guidance), through an interaction element 8 (namely a graphic object allowing an interaction) associated with a guidance target. For example, in a first configuration of the dialog device, the screen 3 can be a touch screen, as represented in
Furthermore, in a second configuration, dialog device 1 can comprise a control device 6, represented by broken lines in
Regardless of the specific form, control device 6 can be configured to allow an operator to select or grasp and move the interaction element 8 such as on a display along a predefined path such as a curved path or straight path (on a scale for example, which may appear dynamically and contextually when modifying a target) so as to modify the associated guidance target. The path such as a curve for example may be a scale of values that can be displayed by default, as represented in
As an illustration, in
More specifically,
Moreover, by way of illustration, in
It is also possible to implement a climb mode to a target altitude by observing a particular constraint, for example an altitude or geometrical profile constraint. As an illustration, in the example of
Furthermore, in the latter embodiment, screen 3 may also display, automatically, at least one characteristic point 31 of the predicted trajectory 30 (
As an illustration, it is thus notably possible to carry out the following operations. First, on the heading presetting, it can be possible to delay the start of turn by pushing back, along the predicted trajectory for example, the representation (on the ND screen) of the point at which the taking into account of the heading presetting target begins. Similarly, on the gradient/speed presetting, it can be possible to delay the descent/climb start point by an interaction on the graphic representation of this point (e.g., on the VD screen). It can be further possible to modify the vertical speed/gradient target by an interaction on the end-of-climb/descent graphic representation.
As an illustration, as shown in
In addition, in yet another configuration of the present subject matter, the interaction element 8 can be configured to function as a primary interaction element, and an aircraft operator can grasp or select and move the primary interaction element 8 on the display to make usual rounded value adjustments to the aircraft's guidance target values. For example, the primary interaction element 8 can be moved on an airspeed indicator 42 of the primary flight display (PFD) to adjust the aircraft's airspeed 5 knots at a time; or by adjusting the aircraft's heading 5° degrees at a time on a heading scale 12 on the aircraft's navigation display (ND); or by adjusting the aircraft's altitude 1000 ft at a time on an altitude scale; or by changing the aircraft's vertical speed 1000 ft per minute at a time on a vertical speed indicator. Grasping or selecting and moving the primary interaction element 8 can be performed through a control device linked to the aircraft's guidance system. For example, the aircraft operator can place a cursor on the primary interaction element 8 and can grasp or select and move the primary interaction element 8 by click and hold the cursor via the control device. The control device can be, for example, a trackball, a computer mouse, and/or a touch pad.
Furthermore, one or more additional secondary interaction elements 44 can be temporary displayed at or near the primary interaction element 8 after the primary interaction element 8 has been moved by the aircraft operator. For example, on the aircraft's heading scale 12, two secondary interaction elements 44 can appear on the right and left side of the primary interaction element 8, after an approximate adjustment on the aircraft's heading has been made.
During normal aircraft operation, guidance target values can be adjusted with rounded values, such as 5 knots for airspeed, 5° degrees for heading, 1000 ft for altitude, or 1000 ft per minute for vertical speed. In some situations however, adjustments to the guidance targets with greater precision (i.e., at values lower than the rounded values) may be desirable. For example, when making an approach to a runway for landing, it may be desired to adjust the aircraft's heading only 1° degree at a time or the aircraft's airspeed 1 knot at a time. Similarly, it may be necessary to adjust the aircraft's altitude only 100 ft at a time when leveling off at low temperature, or adjust the vertical speed 100 ft per minute at a time when performing a non-precision approach.
Furthermore, during turbulences it can be difficult for the aircraft operator to set precise values due to the size of the primary interaction element 8 and the size of the guidance system scales, and the two secondary interaction elements 44 can enable the aircraft operator to easily make incremental adjustments on the aircraft's guidance targets, wherein the incremental adjustments can be smaller in value than the approximate adjustments.
Furthermore, if the scale contains a characteristic value marker 45, which can be for example a computed speed value that provides optimal climbing performance, the minimum selectable speed value or the runway heading value, element 8 can be grasped or selected and moved toward this marker 45. In this case, the element 8 takes the value of the marker, even if this value is not rounded to the nearest approximate value. This additional optional device allow the aircraft operator to directly select a set of pre-defined values identified on the scales by markers without the need of using the secondary interaction elements 44 and therefore having direct access to the pre-defined or pre-computed value although these values may not meet the standard “rounding” values.
In some aspect, the two secondary interaction elements 44 on the heading scale 12 can be configured to perform positive and negative incremental adjustments to the aircraft's heading target value. For example, the aircraft operator can click on or otherwise activate the secondary interaction element 44 displayed to the left of the primary interaction element 8 to make adjustments to the aircraft's heading in relatively smaller increments (e.g., at minus 1° degree at a time) compared to the adjustments enabled by movement of the interaction element 8, via the cursor controlled by the control device 6 linked to the guidance system. Similarly, positive adjustment to the aircraft's heading can be made in small increments (e.g., at 1° degree at a time) by clicking on or otherwise activating the interaction element 44 displayed to the right of the primary interaction element 8.
In another aspect, two secondary interaction elements 44 can be placed on the top and bottom of the primary interaction element 8 on the airspeed indicator 42 of the PFD for making incremental adjustments to the aircraft's airspeed. For example, the top secondary interaction element 44 can be labeled “+” and the aircraft operator can click on it to increase the aircraft's airspeed by a relatively small value (e.g., 1 knot at a time) compared to the adjustments enabled by movement of the interaction element 8. Similarly, the bottom secondary interaction element 44 can be labeled “−” and clicking on it can decrease the aircraft's airspeed by a small amount (e.g., 1 knot at a time).
In addition, after an approximate adjustment has been made to an aircraft's guidance target, that approximate guidance target value 46 can remain visible on the screen to the aircraft operator as a reference for making subsequent incremental adjustments.
For example, the top secondary interaction element 44 can be labeled “+” and the aircraft operator can click on it to increase the aircraft's speed by a relatively small amount (e.g., 1 knot at a time). The bottom secondary interaction element 44 can be labeled “−” and clicking on it can decrease the aircraft's airspeed by a relatively small amount (e.g., 1 knot at a time).
The present subject matter can be embodied in other forms without departure from the spirit and essential characteristics thereof. The embodiments described therefore are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Although the present subject matter has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the scope of the present subject matter.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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11 60884 | Nov 2011 | FR | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part application from and claims priority to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/687,729 filed Nov. 28, 2012, which relates and claims priority to French Patent Application No. 11 60884 filed Nov. 29, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13687729 | Nov 2012 | US |
Child | 13835506 | US |